THE late, great Trevor Barker once described Anthony Allen as one of most inspiring and courageous players he’d been involved with.
High praise indeed from Barker whose own signature skills were his courage and inspirational character, which extended beyond his playing prowess.
But, for anyone who ventured to the Beach Road Oval in the early 1990s, few players displayed as unswerving commitment to the contest as Allen.
Whether it was coming out of defence or later in the midfield, Allen gave his teammates 110 percent every time he pulled on the Sandringham Guernsey.
Allen played for three years under Barker at Sandringham where he was captain of the club’s 1992 and ’94 premierships.
During a stellar career with the Zebras, Allen captained the club for five seasons, racked up 165 games, a club record that stood until last season when goal kicking goliath Nick Sautner eclipsed it.
Testament to Allen’s career is that he won the Norm Goss Medal for the best player in Sandringham’s ’94 premiership, represented the VFA, gained selection in the VFA Team Of The Year and won a best and fairest
It came as no surprise that Allen eventually would move to coaching and he spent two seasons as an assistant coach at North Melbourne.
He has coached junior football as well as Old Camberwell in the VAFA ‘B’ grade.
But, Allen was lured to the country’s elite Under 18 program by a desire to work with aspiring , young footballers.
After speaking to High Performance Manager Anton Grbac, Allen found himself at the Oakleigh Chargers as an assistant coach to Steve Grace last season.
And when a vacancy became available at Northern Knight when Denis Pagan resigned, Allen was the successful applicant.
The Knights have got off to a flyer with three wins from as many matches, but Allen is acutely aware it’s a long season and unlike other competitions he’s been involved in, winning is not the sole measuring stick for success.
Allen is encouraged by the season’s start, but more so by the group of players at the Knights.
“We have a few guys in line for the 17 and 18 (Vic) Metro teams. There are some good calibre boys at the club,” Allen said.
“We don’t have that many really tall players. We’re going to have to be really good with our hand and foot skills.
“Controlled possession is going to be pretty important for us. Our list is more weighted to the bottom age boys so we may be giving away a bit of experience, but we’re committed to giving a lot of bottom age exposure.”
Commitment is something Anthony Allen is well versed in.
Last Modified on 07/04/2010 16:32